Tell Me No More Lies
by MarilynnRae
Summary: What if Gillian never got married? What if Zoe wasn't in the picture anymore? Lie to Me the way we all wished it was. Cal and Gillian Lightman running their company together along with Cal's daughter Emily as a full time charge. Lie to Me: Tell Me No More Lies.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Caillan Fic. Emily is a little younger in this story. This is just a sample piece. If you would like more, let me know. I usually like to use the episodes and build on what would happen in this world instead. I may take the show you the first episode as a whole as well for a sample.**

What if Gillian never got married? What if Zoe wasn't in the picture anymore? Lie to Me the way we all wished it was. Cal and Gillian Lightman running their company together along with Cal's daughter Emily as a full time charge. Lie to Me: Tell Me No More Lies.

It was a tragedy and a miracle. A beautiful lawyer being killed by a drunk driver yet somehow the toddler in the backseat was pulled out without scratch. Cal Lightman was devastated. Yes, he and Zoe were divorced, but he had once loved this woman with his whole heart and it pained him to know that Emily would grow up without a mother.

Then Gillian came along.

Cal really had no intent on ever pursuing a relationship with anyone when she came into his life. It was 2003, three years after the accident and Emily was just turning six. She was supposed to be his therapist. A little while later she became his friend and years after that his colleague. They worked in close proximities and boundaries were starting to get pushed. Gillian tried to create The Line, the line they drew in their professional and personal life. It failed.

With Zoe gone he was more open to his possibilities, the possibilities that gave him a chance to look Gillian in the eye and make the first move. She said no, she wanted to say yes, he could see that. She said no because she feared the ethical balance since he was once her patient. After a lot of convincing, he assured her that they had created a separate bond, a bond that was not based on the information she learned about him during his sessions.

What truly won his heart was her relationship with Emily. She was so naturally maternal, comforting and counseling his daughter without ever being asked or it being suggested. She truly cared about Emily and the bond only grew stronger.

Emily was nine when they were married and Gillian only wanted something small. It was just family and friends. Gillian wanted children, more children, a child of her own, and after trying without success for over a six months, they sought out help. They said it would be difficult, but not to give up on a miracle.

It was six years later and the only child they had to show for it was Emily. Gillian loved Emily as her own and most of her accepted the fact that she may be the only child she will ever have. Cal saw that Gillian wanted more and that's what he wanted to give her more than anything.

"Emily, come on, sweetie. I've to go get you to school," Gillian called for the second time that morning as she snatched the other half of her bagel to give to Emily on their way. Cal left early that morning, a client that she'd catch up on when she got in.

She could hear her coming down the steps and add an extra emphasis on the landing. "Have you seen my book?" Emily called back searching through the stack of books on the stairwell that she still needed to take up to her room.

Gillian grabbed the bagel and Emily's Civics book off the table and tucked it under her arm. "Got it, let's go."

Emily met her at the door and turned around so Gillian could unzip her backpack and shove the textbook in before spinning her back around and handing her the bagel. This was nearly a patent routine by now. She was in eighth grade now and blooming. Her big brown eyes, the eyes that were definitely Zoe's, were beginning to show signs of being an adult, along with her cheek bones starting to define.

"Morning, by the way," Emily told her as she climbed into the car.

Gillian smiled at her. "Good morning."

When she dropped her off at school, Emily leaned into the driver's side window and pecked Gillian's cheek. "Are you picking me up after school?"

Gillian thought for a moment. "Most likely I will," she replied glancing at the group of girls waiting for Emily behind her. "Go one." Gillian gave her a kiss on the cheek. "See you after school, love."

"See ya, Mom," she replied, pulling her backpack better on her shoulder waving as she joined her friends.

Gillian smiled to herself as she pulled out the parking lot. When she first started seeing Cal, as a friend, Emily really latched on to her. When they began dating at first she began to resent her, pulling away, lashing out, anything to make her go away. Gillian recognized the signs and knew it had to do with the fact she was afraid of her mother being replaced. Eventually her trust returned and the bond strengthened. It did take her by surprise when Emily went from calling her Gillian or Gill to Mom over night. Even before Cal and Gillian were married she was already Emily's mom.

As she walked through the doors of the elevator she could already see Cal standing there with Ben seeming to be in some sort of argument. She rolled her eyes and gave Ben a knowing smile as she passed.

"I can't believe you, Cal!" Ben called as Cal fell into step along side his wife.

His arm was around her waist as she shook her head. "What felony has he committed this time?" she tossed over her shoulder as Cal didn't even try and hide his silent pleasure in rattling Ben's cage.

"Oh, you know. Classic B and E. Not even a felony," he told her as they walked into her office and shut the door behind them, leaving Ben to just shake his head in aggravation and defeat.

The separated and Gillian took her seat at her desk while he sat on the corner of it. Her desk was much tidier that his, files stacked in order in two neat stacks. Her office was made of primarily windows, fitting her open personality, and just behind her was the best view the office could offer. Cal didn't even argue about who got what office, there was never a question of who got the view.

"Why can't you behave yourself?" Gillian asked him lightly as she leaned back in her chair and noticed that he was offering his her coffee. "Alright, you're forgiven. Emily was nearly late."

Cal smirked at her. "You two are always almost late," he teased lightly. He checked his watch. It was 8:05 and Emily had to be at school at 7:55 so she probably was cutting it close. "So, what's on the schedule today, luv?"

He was playful this morning, and oddly enough, so was she. She kicked at his leg and let her charming grin. "You could say good morning," she said to him. It was soft and playful and she could tell he enjoyed his curious expression that raised his brows.

Leaning in toward him, he got very close to her face. "Good morning, darling."

He moved in to kiss her but she didn't move in too. Instead she just stayed there, smirking at him because this was the one place where she knew held all the power. "Come on, luv, you're no fun."

She gave him a pointed look before standing up and putting her arms around his neck, their bodies hugging. "No fun?" she asked tilting her head and pretty well daring him to stick his foot in the mouth. His blanket expression irritated her and he saw that. Damn it, he won.

Rolling her eyes he tugged her body closer, if possible. She laughed at his desperation before finally leaning in and kissing him. He pinned her to her desk and make her laugh into his kisses.

There was a knock on the glass and only ended their kisses, and didn't even pull them away from each other. Loker poked his head in through the door. "Hey, if ya'll are done-"

"And if we're not?" Cal shot at him over Gillian's shoulder and she rolled her eyes.

"-I have some clients here to see you," Loker finished, his cheeks pink from Cal's retort.

Cal stared at Loker until he took the hint muttering something that no one really cared about and disappeared. He then looked down at Gillian and threw his lips back down at hers for a quick peck. Stepping backward he moved toward the door in a rushed manor. "Well, duty calls. Care to join me? Not the first time I said that in twelve hours."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "We should really start working on The Line again. At least at work."

Cal just laughed at her and kept moving listening to her grab for pen and paper as he hurried off toward the conference room. Gillian shook her head as she watched her husband keep moving with purpose. She looked down at the file on her desk, and picked it up. Whether Cal liked it or not, they still needed another hand in the game. Ria Torres was going to get a visit from them sooner or later. Hopefully, for the sake of her sanity, sooner.


	2. The Married Life

_**Chapter 2! I would like to apologize for the previous chapter's mistakes, I didn't upload the correct version. That should be fixed soon. Anyway! Hope you enjoy!**_

Gillian was sitting at her desk waiting for Cal to get back from his lecture and she didn't hide the fact she was anxious to see him when she saw him come around the corner.

She rushed out of her office and fell in step beside him, beaming at him. "Just the man I' was looking for."

He gave her a suspicious look. "Business or pleasure?"

She rolled her eyes and kept up with him as he seemed uninterested in what she had to say since it was business. "Today's the day," she said encouragingly. "Say it."

"You're the shrink. I'm not big on self affirmation," he quipped knowing that his wife was not about to give up.

Working her way in front of him, she stopped him in the hallway. Her no nonsense face was one of his least favorite expressions because she usually had a point that she was not going to give up on. This was obviously important to her and she was going to get her way, one way or another.

"I'm telling you, we cannot wait another day to hire someone," she held up a blue folder, her face changed into a pleased smile as she studied his, determined to not let him shut her down. "This is the one."

Cal opened his mouth. "I-umm… ehh… uhm mmm."

This made her day. She was winning. "Use your words, darling," she teased rolling onto her toes to lean in toward him.

As much as she would like to say she and Cal's relationship wasn't based on winning or losing, it did involve a healthy amount of intellectual competition. It didn't sound good, but it worked. Cal loved her for her kindness and felt like she was the most brilliant woman he ever met. Somehow she managed to put up with his ridiculous behavior and even loved him for it. Times like these were when he felt like he should be offering her the world.

"Why do we need to hire someone?" he asked finally.

Her face fell into determination. "We got a new request this morning from the D.E.A. and Homeland Security. Someone from the prime minister's office in Uzbekistan called. They want us to give a talk-"

Cal had heard enough and moved to walk past her. Gillian hadn't seen a look of agreement on his face so she wasn't going to let him walk away.

"-to their senior police," she continued giving him a warning expression.

"Tell them to call back when they got a constitution. A real one," Cal fired back, moving toward his office.

She opened her mouth to argue but Loker appeared and handed Cal another folder. Maybe she would bring this up at home. Then again, she hadn't even been able to get to the point yet that they hadn't spent a conscious hour away from work together in over a week and she would very much like her husband back sometime.

"Here's the analysis from the blinking experiment," Loker told him. He was wearing his usual button up with a sweater vest that made him look like an over grown prep school student and Gillian couldn't help but notice he didn't shave this morning either.

Cal noticed it also. "Just getting in Loker?" he asked, flipping through the papers in the file.

Loker didn't miss a beat. "Yeah. I got piss-drunk last night with my roommate. And I was just lying in bed this morning thinking about how nasty hot Nancy Grace is, and just trying to decide if I was gonna come in at all 'cause it's not like there's anyone here to fantasize about."

Loker was one of their assistants that did some leg work on cases as well as solo research. He was a good guy and extremely honest, he called it radical honesty. Gillian thought of it more as a protective way of not getting cornered by Cal.

Gillian cocked her head at him as Cal checked his expression. "No offense taken," she quipped.

Cal glanced at her, then back at Loker. He wasn't showing shame, but he could tell he was hiding something. "I don't go for married women," he replied, absently nodding his head at Cal.

Cal put his arm around his wife's waist. Classic deflection. He thought Gillian was attractive but probably had too much respect for her and her husband (or perhaps fear) to ever allow himself to admit it to himself, much less fantasize. "Good boy," Cal mocked before letting go of Gill's waist and moving toward his office again.

She exhaled in frustration. "Cal…" He kept walking as she offered him the file. "Cal!" She could say something insinuative and he'd stop in his tracks, but her luck he'd be caught on his sexual ADD for the rest of the day. She reached for him, but instead of stopping him, he entwined their fingers and kept her walking with him toward his office.

"Mr. Lightman, I have the mayor on line two for you," his secretary told him as he went by with his wife beside him, waiting for him to slow down.

Cal through open his office door and let go of her hand to pick up the phone. Gill was not about to give up. Taking a seat in the white chair on the opposite side of his desk, she opened the pudding cup she had been carrying around with her as she tried to chase down her husband. As she took a bite, she noticed how Cal's tone had changed from annoyance to a slightly more gentle tone.

Patiently waiting and taking small bites of pudding, she watched him hang up the phone. "What is it?" she asked, putting the file on her lap.

"Some blowup at the Justice Department… high school teacher that was killed in the Northwest." He glanced down taking it much more serious than anything else so far that morning. "He wants us on it right away since…" Finally he noticed his wife was munching on something as she held the spoon over tongue. "What is that?"

She held up the spoon, ready to take another bite. "Chocolate pudding."

He gave her a incredulous look that was mixed in humor. "Who eats pudding at ten o'clock in the morning?"

She smirked at him and drew the curve of the spoon over her tongue. "People who like pudding." Still, her eyes said something more and it made Cal squirm. Sometimes she was too hot for her own good.

That was one thing about Gillian: her sweet tooth. She could go through a tub of ice cream in less than a week, a couple of days if it was a particularly stressful times. He stood up and sat on the arm of her chair. "So, what are your reasons you want to hire this," he looked at the file, "Torres?"

She looked up at him. "You know my antics as well as I do, Cal," she replied shortly.

He scanned her face, searching her expression but keeping his unreadable. "Come on now. Give me your whole argument." His tone was husky as he leaned in and kissed her, taking some of the chocolate off her bottom lip as she nibbled his with purpose.

As the broke apart, she touched Cal's face looking into his beautiful eyes. She pecked his lips one more time. Gillian stood and dropped the now empty pudding cup in the trash before turning back around to him on her toes. She let the slight irritation and hurt be revealed on her expression.

"I haven't seen you outside of work in days and we sleep in the same bed. Emily made her own dinner last night because both of us were here until nine. I was asleep when you got home and you left before I was up. Now tell me," she put her arms around his neck and looked him square in the eye, "what sounds better: hiring someone and being able to go home and have dinner with your wife and daughter. Be able to tell your daughter goodnight and actually spend time with me." She leaned in and kissed his lips, her eyes sparking with meaning. "Or keep ignoring me and don't hire anybody."

Cal kept studying her expression as she studied his. It was almost a way of communicating to them. "That's a tough choice."

The humor was on his lips as she playfully pushed him back. "I'll remember that, if we actually get to go home tonight."

He would follow that woman to the ends of the Earth and for more reasons than he liked the view her figure hugging dresses gave him. He cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. They didn't kiss, they didn't just looked at each other.

Cal asked most of the questions to the kid accused of killing his teacher. Studying each of his expressions, his tones, his movement. Now and then Cal would glance at Gillian, only for a second, to see if she was reading anything more. Yes, he could read expressions better than she could, but Gill knew people.

The kid was lying about something, but Cal wasn't convinced he was a killer. Neither was Gill either. But they weren't the ones that needed to be convinced. No, it was a prude asshole cop that thought what they did was a magic show that needed to believe that the kid didn't kill anyone.

He walked up beside them as Gill stood beside Cal looking at the image on the screen. "Did you get a sense of his intent?"

Cal didn't give him a straight answer. "When I asked James about his best race he broke eye contact in order to remember and answer truthfully," Cal explained as the officer listened without interest. "When I asked him about his run the night of the murder, he never broke eye contact. He wasn't recalling a memory. He was lying."

The cop looked at Cal annoyed. "I thought most people avoid eye contact when they're lying."

Cal shook his head. "No. It's a myth. And quite often, they make more eye contact. They need to watch to see if you believe their lies."

Gillian kept studying the expressions on the boy's face. "The content analysis would suggest that James has been to Ms. McCartney's house before. Question: 'Have you ever been to her house?' Answer: 'No. I have never been to her house.' Rigid repetition like-"

The officer turned to her and his expression changed. It was like it was the first time he had realized she was there. "I'm sorry, and you are?"

Irritated by the flirtation and interest in his voice, Cal answers for her. "This is Doctor Lightman."

The officer looks confused. "Wait, I thought you were Doctor Lightman."

Cal rolled his eyes, by God this one was bloody slow. "I'm sorry. You can call her Mrs. Doctor Lightman."

Gillian smiled as the cop's face turned a slight shade of red, but he didn't look completely ashamed which she was glad Cal didn't act upon. "Anyway. When we asked him about his teacher's death I saw this…" He pointed at the small change of expression on the video. "Oblique eyebrows."

Gillian furrowed her brow. "Sadness. Why would he be hiding sadness for her?"

The detective rolled his eyes. "Looks like guilt to me."

Neither Cal nor Gillian granted him with an irritated reaction. "Well, it's possible he didn't mean to kill his teacher. Could've been an accident."

The man let out a mocking laugh as he shook his head. "Okay, I indulged the mayor's office in letting you talk to the kid. But now, you're just making wild guesses that have no basis in hard evidence. This was no accident. And personally, I think what you do is a joke. It's a friggin' carnival act."

Considering the IQ scale in the room was not leaning in his favor, the man was pretty daring to say something like that. Gillian narrowed her eyes and studied the man's expression. He was truly being an pompous ass and was giving her the once over like a piece of meat.

"Oh, yeah. I get that a lot," Cal replied nodding a little while Gillian just waited for his on type of personal blow. "You know, a moment ago, I saw you smile at your colleague. Flash her a glance then shift your gaze. She responded by raising her chin boss, revealing deep embarrassment."

Gillian was sure that was enough, just like she knew that her husband wasn't done. "Cal," she said putting her hand on his forearm and trying to pull him back so he didn't take anything too far.

"I'll take another wild guess," Cal continued, ignoring his wife's antics. "You two had a fling. She doesn't want a repeat performance because, you know, what with your wife and all." Cal got to his feet and took a few steps closer to him, putting Gillian completely behind him. "But you won't move on. The way you looked at my wife, tells me she wasn't even the first one. Not that I can say anything, Mrs. Doctor Lightman is quite attractive, part of why I married her. Way out of your league though."

The man reached up to rub his nose and Cal pointed it out immediately. "Oh, no, no. Keep your fingers off your nose. Men have erectile tissue there. It itches when you're hiding something."

The knife was inserted and twisted. His job here was done.

Gillian grabbed her purse and followed Cal out the door. He was waiting in the car by the time she even made it outside. She climbed into the passenger seat and glance over to Cal where he was looking at her expectantly.

"What?" There was a slight humor in her voice.

"Not going to reprimand me from my poor behavior?" he questioned as she waited for him to pull out.

"With his direct flirtation with me over your shoulder and then him undercutting everything we do, you think I expected you to not react like that? I was impressed after the flirting you didn't say anything," she said not hiding the fact that she actually thought he may have deserved it too.

Cal beamed at her. There was one of the many reasons he married her.

After they interviewed some of the kid accused of killing his teacher, James', classmates, they couldn't find a single credible account to point out the kid was violent or even had a problem with the woman he was accused of killing. They took a few notes on students that they saw acting odd or seemed to be hiding something, but first they had offer someone a job.

She pulled two airport tickets out of her bag and glanced in the back seat. "Off to the bank?" she asked noticing the brief case.

He reached into the back and opened it, revealing that he had, in fact, already been to the bank. Typical Cal. "You let a small fortune sit in the backseat? And we've been out all morning…"

There were benefits to his madness, but there were also times where his madness just turned into stupidity. Cal shrugged and laid the case back behind him. "Still here."

Gillian rolled her eyes. Good thing it was still there. Losing that money would have been really interesting to explain when she did the company funds later. The government probably wouldn't even believe that it was honestly stolen.

"Be glad I love you," she muttered shaking her head. "I'm not even sure how I put up with you."

Cal shrugged. "We all know it's for my devilish good looks and charming accent."

She muffled a laugh. "The only thing about you that is charming."

As they stopped at a stop light, he glanced over at her. "Now, luv. There has to be something you love about me," he said lightly his eyes not revealing the slight insecurity that he felt.

It was true, he really did drag Gillian around a lot and he almost wondered if she'd always put up with it. Still, she didn't try and change him. There were times where she was angry and lashed out at him. But as odd and unpredictable as his behavior, it was predictable in its own way. She could normally smell the smoke and tell how big the explosion was going to be and how long she had before it went off.

She looked back at him, smiling gently. "I love _you_." Her words were the answer to his question and probably the best answer he could ask for. The smile on his face told her that. His grin was contagious as she shook her head and looked away from him. "Green light."

Cal was not exactly pleasant when they met Ria Torres. Granted, she didn't know it was a test either. She had the natural ability to read expressions which came in handy since she worked in airport security. If anything, they set a trap for her.

As much as Cal hated to admit it, she really impressed him. Though, if Gill didn't know him as well as she did she might have not seen it either.

"Will pick Emily up from school?" Cal asked Gillian as they pulled into the parking lot of their firm.

"Speaking of Emily, she needs a graduation dress, Cal," she reminded him fishing the keys to her car out of her purse and unlocking the door. The perk of being the bosses is having the two best parking places. "You could maybe let me have the afternoon off," she told him giving him a flirtatious grin as he let his hands rest on her hips. She leaned into him and pecked his lips. "Take Emily shopping, let me make dinner," her lips hit his again, "and we could go to bed _together _tonight instead of not seeing each other at home." She batted her eyelashes at him and smiled up at him.

He kissed her lips again and opened her door for her. "See you at home, luv."

She grinned at him at him. Of course she welcomes anytime she can spend with Emily and having free reign with the American Express is a great plus.

Gillian parked the car and got out walking over to stand with the other parents that were picking up their kids. Tammy, one of Emily's friend's moms, immediately waved at her and beckoned her over to join some of the other mothers that were speaking. Taking a deep breath, Gillian prepared herself to be snidely hit on how she has missed the recent PTA meeting and other things that she truly doesn't have time for.

Most of these women were spouses of doctors and chose to stay at home and raise their kids, Gillian was proud to be working and she loved her job. Emily didn't care if they went to PTA meetings or not. There was always someone at home to support her. Gillian and Cal helped with her homework (as much as possible but things seemed to have gotten harder since they were in eighth grade) and supported her creativity that she showed in art. As long as Emily was happy, Gillian could truly care less about what the housewives of DC had to say about her.

Tammy beamed at her. "Hey Gilly, you know Madison and Susan," she said motioning to the two women beside her. "And this is Justine. Her daughter is in the seventh grade."

Gillian nodded politely at all of them. "Hi."

Tammy was a sweetie, but she was not the type of person Gill would call if she needed a friend. She had known Tammy since Emily was seven, her daughter being in the same class and all, and the only time she even remembered calling Tammy for something personal, was asking her to pick up Emily when Cal was sick and she was stuck in traffic.

"That's a lovely dress," Justine commented politely.

It was a normal compliment for her when she was picking up Emily. All the other mothers were in sun dresses or something more casual than her Armani dress. She wanted to point out that she had a busy day at the office, but she didn't want to sound like she was patronizing them.

Just then the final bell rang and all the mothers looked up at doors expectantly. "Thank you," Gillian replied, more to the bell than the woman.

Emily broke away from a group of friends and hurried over to her mother. Her plaid skirt had yellow paint on it and so did her hair. She no longer had her sweater vest on and Gillian had an idea why since her white sleeves were also covered in paint.

Before she could open her mouth to ask questions Justine suddenly spoke. "Oh! You're Emily's _step_-mother."

There was no hiding the shock on Gillian and Emily's faces as they turned around to look back at the woman. "I'm sorry?" she asked, failing to meet her usual complete politeness.

The realization hit the woman like a ton of bricks and she suddenly looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I-"

Emily shook her head. "It's alright." She looked back up at Gillian and tugged on her arm. "Come on Mom."

The term step-mother always made Gillian feel like she wasn't allowed to really claim Emily, like she didn't really love her like the other mothers loved their children. Then again, just working with children, she knew that most step-parents were only ever seen as their parent's spouse. She knew that her and Emily's relationship was much different than that.

"You okay?" Emily asked as Gill finally realized she was lost in thought, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Yes, I'm sorry," she replied quickly. She unlocked the car doors and climbed in.

Emily threw her backpack in the back and absently picked at the paint that was dried to her skirt.

"So, what happened?" Gillian asked referring to the stains.

There was a slight hesitation. Emily wanted to tell her that it was nothing, but she knew that she couldn't get away with it. "I don't want to talk about it right now," she replied gently. Usually when Emily said she would talk about it later, she did. Going to Gill or Cal when she was ready.

"Well, I could take you home and get washed up so we can go graduation dress shopping," Gillian offered glancing over to see Emily gazing out the window.

Emily met her eyes and gave her a weak smile. "I thought shrinks frowned upon retail therapy," she teased. Emily like teasing Gillian when she went all "shrinky" on her or went very unshrinky on her. Bad day ice cream and shopping? That was Mom, not Doctor Lightman.

Gillian preferred being Emily's mom anyway. She'd choose mother over shrink anyway, not that she would give up her job anyway. If Emily needed her to, though, she would. Emily was first priority. She made this point when she adopted Emily after she and Cal were married. Even Cal knew that Emily came first in Gill's eyes, it was mutual.

"I got in a fight," Emily said suddenly shocking Gillian completely.

She hit her breaks a little too hard as she pulled into their driveway. Gillian was stopped in the middle of the lane. She turned and looked at Emily, opened her mouth, closed it again and held up a finger to signal a moment to park. She pulled into a parking place and looked at Emily.

"Alright, I'm being the good parent and not reacting the way I know your father is going to react. Please be patient with me while I try to wrap my head around what you just said," Gillian replied completely taken back by her statement.

She rubbed her legs nervously and couldn't make her eyes meet Gillian's. She hadn't even reached for her seatbelt to go inside yet. "It wasn't like a _fight_ fight. Just a-"

"What happened?" Gillian asked, cutting to the chase. Her tone was soft, sensing her daughter's withdraw.

"She… she was saying stupid stuff and I knew it wasn't true, but I got mad and well… paint." Emily motioned to her clothes. "We didn't get in trouble, well not really. We both just said it was an accident."

Gillian looked at Emily for a long moment. "Alright," she said finally. "But we're going to have to tell your dad and he'll probably want to know what 'stupid stuff'. For now. Go get cleaned up and we'll shop our little hearts out."

Emily turned toward Gillian and reached out to hug her, even over the console between them. Her face buried in Gillian's light brown hair and her eyes watery with tears. "She was saying that when parents remarry that step-parents don't love you like your real parents and I don't know why I got so mad… I know it's not true."

Gillian stroked the girl's curls and kissed her hair. "I love you very much, Emily," Gillian told her daughter, wiping her tears off her cheeks with her thumbs. She already knew that though. "What do you say we put off shopping until tomorrow and we make a really awesome dinner for your dad? And I'll tell him about what happened, how about that?"

Emily wiped her eyes and nodded.

They stepped out of the car as Gillian threw her keys in her purse, following Emily inside. She didn't even notice Emily stopping at the door and nearly ran into her. "You're pretty awesome, ya know that?" Emily said to her.

Gillian threw her arm around her shoulders and hugged her to her. "Yep. I know."

They laughed together as they walked into the house, Emily's arm around her waist and both of them happily accepting the comfort of each other.

Cal made it home around eight, two hours after Gillian and Emily had dinner. Emily was in her room finishing her homework and Gillian sat down beside Cal on the couch as he ate his food. She was feeling a little needy and she was lightly teasing Cal as he twisted the pasta around his fork.

Her hand was on his thigh and she was rubbing her hand up and down. Her head was turned into his neck and she kissed it, just behind his jaw line and going down.

"I'm eating," he reminded her lightly, not minding at all. A bit of red sauce was on the corner of his mouth and Gillian seized the plate, pushing onto the table. Her leg was thrown on his as she perched herself up on his lap, taking the sauce off his lips with hers.

"Gillian's upstairs doing homework," he warned her. That didn't stop him either though, he was powerless, kissing her back as the passion between them grew.

"I've missed you," she whined in such a way that it made him unbearably aroused. She smirked at feeling him beneath her. His hands slid up her thighs, taking the dress up to her waist and his hands planning at her panties.

She moaned and he grunted in return. It was turning hot fast and it was difficult to remember that Emily could walk in at any second. Cal glanced over her shoulder, before his hands going around her and squeezing her ass. "Upstairs?" he offered as her hips rocked into his.

She bit his lip and gave it an extra bit of force. "Sure," she whispered.

They were grinning like fools as they tried to quietly move toward their bedroom. Just as Gillian turned the knob Cal pushed her through and threw her on the bed. She laughed as he covered her lips with his.

Her hands were ripping at his clothing as his pushed her shirt over her head and he started nipping at her bare skin. It's weird how when you're a parent you learn to work around your kids in these types of matters. Their clothes were ripped away and scattered across the floor, the sheets were being pulled off the bed and the pillows gone.

They were both on the edge, ready to come over when their landline started ringing. Gillian and Cal looked at each other. "Emily will get it," Cal assured her as he started again.

"Mom!" Cal and Gillian jumped apart as they heard Emily's door open. "Dad! It's for you!"

"We'll get it in here!" Gillian called back, grabbing the phone off the receiver. She answered it and turned it on speaker, keeping her eyes on the door to be sure Emily didn't walk in. Cal sat behind her kissing her neck, anxious to pick up where they left off.

"This is Gillian," she said professionally even though she tilted her head to the side to give Cal better access.

"_We have some new information-"_ Cal groaned. It was Loker. Even worse, it was work.

"Loker," Cal said slowly, taking his lips off his wife's neck. She glared at him and pushed him onto his back and started working on his bare chest, deciding Loker was not important enough to stop their session for. "You're calling me on my first night off in over two weeks for new information?"

This seemed to confuse the younger man. _"But-"_

"Is there a death? Are you dying? Is the office on fire?" Cal snapped as he flipped Gill onto her back and she moaned as his hands moved now her body.

"_No?"_

"Then hang up and let me go back to screwing my wife," Cal hit the end button without a second thought. His eyes met Gillian's and she was grinning at him. "Now, where were we?"

She leaned up on her elbows and she caught his lips. "Remind me."

Gillian had her husband back for the night, but tomorrow they would go back to being at work and training a new employee. Not to mention, there was a conversation about Emily still needed to have and a dress to buy. But for the moment, she was going to focus on what she had and Cal was not going to let her go anytime soon.

_**So, there we go. Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!**_


	3. Parents and Children

_**I'm hoping for some more reviews on this chapter or I'm just drop the story and try something else. Btw, I'm changing the time line a little, not super noticeable, but just a little. **_

Their alarm blared and Gillian groaned as she reached across her husband to at least hit snooze. She was normally a morning person, but she was extremely exhausted after a long weekend. Emily had to be at school early for SAT practice and she had set the alarm extra early to be sure Emily was up in time and they didn't have to rush too much. But now, a couple extra minutes of shut eye sounded better than waking their very un-morning person daughter.

Cal yawned as Gillian cuddled closer to him, her head resting on his chest. "Mornin'," he muttered running his hand down her arm and listening to her try to fall back into her sleep. Good, he didn't want to get up either. He was like her personal heater.

"No," she muttered defiantly.

Cal laughed at her but didn't move. "We could call in today. Let the kids handle things at work," Cal offered jokingly as Gillian hummed in agreement.

"Right. There wouldn't be an office to go back to," she replied. She exhaled softly and closed her eyes. "Maybe go in late? Wake up Emily then take her to school. Come back here, sleep, and go in at noon?"

Just then a phone rang and they both groaned. Of course not. Playing hooky for even half a day was simply unheard of when you're the bosses. It had been nearly five months since they hired Torres and she was catching on extremely quickly but they were still the people who had to take the high profile cases.

Cal reached over to the night stand and answered it while Gillian decided to give up and get out of bed. She listened as Cal's voice went from annoyance to maybe even concern. She turned around as she wrapped her robe around her, the September air especially nippy at this time of morning.

When Cal hung up the phone and glanced over at his wife as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Kidnapping. Eleven year old girl. They need us at the house as soon as possible."

He watched as the concern registered on her face. "I'll tell Emily to get ready for school."

An hour later, they were walking into the Burch's home, their yard covered in reporters. Cal had his hand on the small of his wife's back, being sure she stayed close. The case was over two months old and was suddenly explosive now that the parents had upped the reward. That didn't keep them from becoming suspects. News reporters were even suggesting that they had killed their own daughter.

The entire idea made Gillian sick. There was absolutely no way she could imagine killing her child. Emily could drive her crazy, but at the end of the day, if she wasn't there Gillian wasn't sure what she would do. She was sure Cal felt similarly, especially by the way he studied the parents' expressions the moment he walked into the room.

There was a video of Samantha on the screen. Her dark hair and gentle feature reminded both of them of Emily. She smiled up at the camera as she held several hula-hoop's in place. _"Watch this, Daddy," _she said with excitement before steadily beginning to hula-hoop and keep them all in place.

Cal had seen enough. He paused it and Gillian looked over at the parents, Brian and Lorraine Burch. "You adopted her five years ago?"

They didn't take their eyes off the image of their daughter frozen on the screen. "Yeah… We waited so long for a child." The sadness in his voice was evident, but there was also a hint of the affection he felt for his daughter. "She made us a family."

Lorraine stood close to her husband as Cal looked around the girl's room. "Do either of you have children?"

"Yes, we do," Cal said softly, casting a glance as Gillian who could empathize with wanting a child. Still, she was happy she had Emily. She was also happy Cal said "we". It still made her feel like she was welcome to be Emily's mother, not that there was a question of it.

Brian shook his head. "How anybody thinks that we could hurt her I- I don't understand."

"You said there was new information?" Gillian asked him as she moved back around to Cal and felt his presence behind her. It made her feel more secure with him there.

He nodded furiously. "A car ran a red light two days ago and the Police gave us that photograph." He pushed the image toward Gillian and she examined it closely as Cal stood over her shoulder doing the same.

The image was mostly of a car, but you could see a girl walking in the background. A pink sweater and jeans. The face and head was cut off from the camera angle.

"It's from one of those traffic cameras," he kept going, making Gillian and Cal feel sorry for his desperation. All those years of waiting for a child and someone takes her away from them. Of course they were desperate. "Do you see there? That is Samantha's sweater. Lorraine made it for her! Someone has her, that's why we raised the reward."

Lorraine looked at them. Unlike her husband she seemed to be numbed, her emotions cut off from the exhaustion. "We re-mortgaged the house."

"We've gotten hundreds of calls from all over saying they've got information about Sammy but the police say that's going to take weeks to talk to everybody and…" Brian Burch looked Cal in the eye, almost like it was a father to father moment. "She may not have that kind of time." Tears were in his voice and in his eyes as Gillian listened to the man and his nervous ramblings. "So we thought that you could tell which of the tipsters we should believe."

Cal nodded slightly as he looked back down at that photograph. He wanted to help them. He truly did. But he couldn't do anything without knowing for sure…

"I need to ask you a question," he said calmly, no emotion in his voice at all. "Did you kill your daughter?"

The question hit them like a ton of bricks. Brian actually looked like he had been struck as he stared back at Cal, his mouth open and his tears cloudy with tears. He glanced at Gillian as if to ask if he was really being asked this question and all Gillian could do was glance at Cal.

"Did you?" Cal asked again, this time getting more forceful with his words but keeping his tone calm. "Did you kill her?"

Lorraine stared at him. "How can you even ask us that?" she squeaked, her voice cracking.

"Yeah, I know you brought me here to help you," Cal replied calmly as Gillian watched both of their emotions.

Brian kept staring at Cal. "Are you serious?"

"Answer the question. Did you kill your daughter?" Cal kept going. Gillian was actually beginning to feel bad for the people as they glanced at her for help.

"I'm not gonna answer that," Lorraine hissed between her teeth, fear and shock in her eyes.

"Did you kill Samantha?"

Brian started stuttering, his eyes letting the tears fall. "We didn't bring you here so that…" he looked at Gillian, his eyes red.

"Did you kill your daughter? Did you kill her?"

Lorraine looked Cal square in the eye. Her eyes still wide with shock. "No," she said sternly.

"No," Brian added, his voice more hurt than anything.

They weren't lying. Cal nodded his head. "Okay. I think we can help you."

Lorraine and Brian both were in tears as they stared back at Cal who had replied so calmly. Gillian was instinctively closer to him, showing them that she was on his side, but her face passive for them to also see that she wasn't trying to hurt them.

"Why-why would you do that?" Lorraine demanded, her answer showing through now.

"We had to be sure," Gillian replied calmly. "But you weren't lying. We can help you."

Together Cal and Gillian walked out the door after exchanging a few more words with the couple. His hand caught her bicep as they closed the door behind them. She looked up at him, slightly dazed as he checked her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

She nodded, but was ineffective at coming out of her daze. "Sure."

They had been together long enough to know better than to push anymore, but it wouldn't surprise him at all if she called Emily during her lunch just to check in on her. That was the kind of mother she was. When bad things happened to kids, she just liked to hear her daughter's voice. Emily didn't mind, in fact it made her feel loved. Gillian was good at keeping the boundary between concerned and overbearing. This is not to say she hasn't crossed the line into overbearing before.

Cal put his arm around her waist as they walked back toward their car. Hardly anyone ever noticed that they were married, even though they were almost always touching. Cal always liked having an arm around her, maybe he was being slightly possessive, but Gillian kind of liked feeling like a trophy. Cal never made her feel like less of a person, but it made her feel good that he was proud to have her. Proud to claim her as his.

Leaning over she gave him a peck on the cheek before they separated to get into the car. He gave her a surprised look. "What was that for?"

She shrugged and opened the car door.

When the detective working Samantha's case came in, he made it obvious he was not happy to be working with them. He bluntly stated that they were in his way and even added that it was most likely the girl was already dead.

Gillian refused to give up hope, suggesting that the girl could have run away. Though there was no case of abuse or neglect in the home, Samantha was adopted and she could have had attachment issues, making it difficult to form relationships with the Burches. The detective was not happy but there was very little he could do about it.

Later when they discovered Samantha's runaway bag Gillian couldn't decide if she felt better or worse about it. She was right, but at the same time she never got to use the bag. Her psychologist did suggest that there may have been abuse in the home as well.

The case was awful, in Gillian's eyes. She hated the idea that anyone could hurt a child. Children were children. Emily was fourteen and a freshman in high school and suddenly she wanted to protect her from the world. She knew that she couldn't, but the reality of what can happen to your children when your back is turned for even the slightest second was enough to make any mother feel ill.

It was time to talk to the parents again. See how they felt about the runaway theory.

"She did not runaway," Lorraine replied immediately. "Whatever you may have been told."

Gillian nodded at her calmly. "It's something we have to consider, Mrs. Burch."

Just then, Cal's phone rang. Gillian looked at her watch. It was just after three so it must have been Emily calling to say she was on her way home after school. They had already had a conversation earlier and Emily knew what to expect.

"Sorry, sorry," Cal muttered as her tried to fish the phone out of his pocket. He looked at the screen. "Oh, I've got to take this. It's my daughter." With that, he moved toward the hallway but stayed close enough where everyone could hear the conversation.

Gillian kept her eyes glued to the Burches as Cal talked on the phone. "Hello? … Absolutely not... 'Cause I said so… No. I said absolutely not, and don't you dare call you mum about it either… We-uh-don't be such a bitch! Shut up!"

The Burches stared at him as the word came out of his mouth.

"Stop it!" He snapped again before holding the phone down and looking over at Gillian. "How'd it go?"

Gillian broke her gaze away from the couple in front of them. "Sympathy then horror," she replied. "Tell Emily that we may be home late and I put dinner in the fridge," she added as though it was nothing.

Cal nodded. "Thanks, love," he said pulling the phone back to his ear. "No, it was fine… It was good, very good… Well, depends when we finish here, but your mum says there's dinner in the fridge just in case… All right, yeah. I love you, as does your mum… Love you, too. Bye."

Forcing the phone back in his pocket, the Burches stared at them in disbelief. Gillian always hated doing this type of thing to people. She felt it was an unkind blow. Reading people's emotions was one thing, testing them was another.

"So what the hell was that?" Brian Burch demanded as Gillian diverted her eyes in the shame she felt for doing that to them.

"Well, I'm not an abusive parent," Cal told them.

"And it doesn't look like you are either," Gillian explained, still feeling guilty.

Brian Burch was nearly back in tears. "You think this is some kind of game? You think we abuse our daughter?"

Lorraine's hand went out to his arm. "Brian…"

Gillian noticed, but she still wanted to apologize. "I'm sorry, but we had to rule it out."

Brian Burch was on his feet in a second. "Is this how you people treat your clients? I mean this is a good family! This is a happy family."

Lorraine was trying to calm her husband as he slammed his body back down on the couch beside her. "Samantha and I are very close."

Cal studied Lorraine for a long moment. "There's something you're not saying."

Brian immediate put his hand on his wife's arm. "No. She's saying everything."

But his wife's face told another story. She was ashamed. She looked like she was ready to cry as she took a few calming breaths. Gillian watched her patiently. "It's alright," she told her. "Mrs. Burch, you can tell us."

She was shaking violently as she turned to her husband. "You never saw what she was like when she was alone with me, Brian." He looked at his wife, not sure where she was going with this. "A few weeks before Samantha disappeared, she threw one of her tantrums. And I tried to hold her. I tried but she was so strong… And she… she pushed me away. I don't know… I don't know how this happened."

The pain was so evident on Lorraine's face it made Gillian hurt for her. She understood what it was like. There were times with Emily that she just had to turn around and walk away. Emily knew how to push buttons, just like she was sure Samantha did. The difference was that Emily was more like a typical teenager than Samantha. Emily just sometimes worried about someone replacing the mother she barely remembered.

"Go on," Gillian encouraged softly.

Tears started to slide from Lorraine's eyes. "She fell in to the stove and her shirt touched one of the burners. It-it caught on fire and burned her back…" Quickly she wiped the tears away. "It was an accident. Samantha felt guilty about it and I was… I was so ashamed… So we didn't tell you and I went to the hospital alone."

Brian put his hand over his mouth as he shook his head at her, tears running down his own cheeks. Then he stood up and walked away as Lorraine called after her. "It was an accident… I'm so sorry, Brian! I'm so sorry…"

Gillian went over and sat beside Lorraine as she kept crying. "But-but it wasn't my fault. It's not my fault that she's gone… It's not my fault…."

All Gillian could do was comfort the woman, gently patting her knee. "It's okay, it's okay. Sometimes adopted kids have trouble connecting. Thousands of mothers go through it," Gillian told her, trying to reassure her. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, okay?"

Lorraine slowly nodded as Cal watched the scene unfold. Gillian look so empathetic that it made him wonder just how much she and Emily went through during their transition period. Both women had always been so stubborn on handling things by themselves that he rarely got a look at it.

As they sat together on a late lunch, Cal looked across the table at Gillian. They both had salads in front of them, not their usual meal choice, and the conversation came to a lull.

"If something like that between you and Emily, would you have told me?" Cal asked his wife.

There was another moment of silence as Gillian thought about that. "Emily is not Samantha. She only fought me when she thought I was a threat to her mother's memory. With you being her father, if I would have told her every time she acted out against me and you punished her for it, she would have resent me." Finally she shrugged. "I guess the answer is no. Unless I truly had to."

Cal noticed her passive tone but pained expression.

"This case is really bothering you, isn't it?" he asked her as she picked at her salad. He could tell she was not interested in her food at the moment, which was rare for Gillian.

"I want a baby, Cal. I want to adopt a baby," she said so suddenly that Cal found himself choking on his own salad.

This was not the reaction she wanted, but to be honest it didn't surprise her. She put down her fork and sighed, not looking him in the eye. "Cal, you know I love Emily and I will always love Emily, but I think we should have another child… since it doesn't look like I can, we should look into adoption."

The thought had crossed his mind, but he wasn't sure how Gillian would take such a suggestion. Now that she was bringing the idea up to him, he didn't feel as prepared as he wished he did. "Gill, this is a hell of a conversation to bring up over a salad," he told her, trying to joke.

The way she looked at him, it told him she was not joking. "Be serious, Cal."

He looked at her for a long moment before reaching his hand out and covering hers with his. "Alright, Gillian, we will look into it."

The best part of being a deception expert, was knowing that your husband was being honest. He was alright with having a child too.

_**Please let me know if you would like me to continue this story. Please review. **_


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